Last time, we have written an article about how to make Mythic Weapons in FFXI, and this time, we'll continue with the weapon series by introducing how to build an Empyrean Weapon in Final Fantasy XI.
What Are Empyrean Weapons
Empyrean Weapons, also called "Full Magian Weapons", are 14 high-damage and low-delay weapons (one for each weapon type except throwing) obtained through the "Trial of the Magians" series of quests. It requires materials dropped from many NMs, which we'll touch on in the next part.
How to Build an Empyrean Weapon
Firstly, you need to go to Ru'lude Garden 85 and check this Splintery chest, where there will be a list of weapons that you can pick.
Pick any weapon from the first page that corresponds with the weapon you want to make. Then you have the base weapon now. Next, trade it to the Moogle that is right next to this Splintery chest. Then he will start talking through the process of upgrading it.
Every weapon is going to be different. But sometimes, there will be some overlap for different ones. For example, kill the same NM or collect the same items, but for the most part, the paths kind of are unique. So for the first six trials, you need to go and kill NMs, and it's going to be a specific NM for each trial, and you need to kill that NM a number of times. So go out and start killing placeholders for the mob and wait until the NM pops. To get credit, make sure you have the weapon equipped when you're killing the NM.
What you need to do here is be in the party, within EXP range when the mob dies and have the weapon equipped with the trial on the weapon. In theory, you could have 18 people camping the NM, and then the NM pops, and all 18 people get credit if they're all on the right step and all have the weapon equipped.
After killing all the enemies that you need to kill through your process, the next step is to kill three Voidwalker NMs.
Then, you will need to go into vision of Abyssea zone and basically kill a series of NMs to get item drops. The NM that needs killing would depend on your weapon type. Then, accumulate 50 items from this NM to move on to the next step, which is to go into a scar zone and do the exact same thing. It'll be a new NM, of course. Be aware that after you've cleared the scars area, you will actually now have access to the weapons skill that is associated with the weapon. Once you've finished with your scar NM items, it's time to move on to Heroes of Abyssea NM items, the quantity of which is 75 this time. At this point, the weapon will be leveled to 90.
The next step in the process is that you need 1500 heavy metal plates, which is not easy to obtain. There are three main ways to get it.
One is through Voidwatch, where you have a chance of getting one plate from defeating the NMs after you open the chest and get your rewards, or there is a different set of NMs, where you have a chance to get a pouch. Upon opening the pouch, you can get 10 to 25 plates, which is not a lot since you need 1500.
The second way is through Ambuscade. By accumulating points, you can actually purchase heavy metal plates from Ambuscade. You can get at least 100 every month. Besides, you can also get 50 plates from Gallantry as opposed to just Hallmarks every three months.
The third way is to simply buy them from Auction House and Bazaars.
You can do all three of these. Considering 1500 is a lot, get whatever you can out of Ambuscade, make some extra final fantasy 11 gil and pile whatever you can. By doing these three things, you can finish it up sooner or later.
After the heavy metal plates, your weapon will now be 95. Move on to the last step to make it to level 99 through the Magian trials. You either need to trade 60 Riftcinder or Riftdross, depending on the weapon type. They are obtained the exact same way as heavy metal plates except for different NMs and Voidwatch. From Ambuscade, you can get 3 Riftcinder and 3 Riftdross some months. If it is the same month when you can also get heavy metal plates from Gallantry, then you can get 2 additional Riftcinder and Riftdross. Of course, you can also buy these from Auction House and Bazaars. We recommend doing these at the same time. Cloudchief said from his experience that we should hold off on making any purchases at the early stage. Because he sometimes would have a vast majority of either the Riftcinder or the Riftdross by the time he accumulated some plates, so there's not that much to purchase. Even in some cases, he actually acquired more than he needed, and those extra ones were sold for heavy metal plates by him.
Once you are done, congratulations! Your weapon is now 99. You can now take it to Oboro and start going through the process to make your weapon to level 119. I hope you got some value out of it. The content mostly comes from Cloudchief's video. If you find it helpful, be sure to subscribe to his channel.
